


A Taste of Freedom

by TimidMarshmallow



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Avoiding responsibilities, Beach Day, Vodka, friends giving lectures, friends supporting each other, like proper adults do!, spoilers?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 10:09:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10160855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimidMarshmallow/pseuds/TimidMarshmallow
Summary: "You left our two underage companions with half a cup of strong vodka?" Ignis felt faint."They're not dumb enough to drink it. Well, maybe Noct, but Prompto won't. He's a goody two shoes." Gladio went ahead and ordered himself another drink."He will if Noctis tells him to. You know how he can get Prompto to do whatever he wants. Remember the frosting incident?"





	

Dino was ecstatic when they handed him the gemstone from Costlemark. 

His grating accent congratulated them, droning on about how he hoped to one day craft jewelry as strong as the Ring of the Lucii. 

Honestly, only Ignis listened. The other three were already planning what they wanted to do while they were at Galdin Quay. Noctis had managed to convince the advisor that they deserved a break after surviving the dungeon. 

Visions of fishing, swimming, and sand castles were interrupted as Dino finally shut up. Ignis bid the man farewell and led his companions back through the restaurant. 

"Alright, before we all run off to enjoy the beach let's eat." The bespectacled man ordered the food as Noctis and Prompto sat at a table. Gladio waited until the younger two were out of earshot. 

"Iggy, how much does the vodka cost here? I need a drink."

"Normally I would ask you to consider skipping the alcohol, but I think we've earned it after that tower. I know I could go for something strong right about now."

Coctura kindly provided them with two of the strongest drinks the restaurant served, as well as four seafood meals. The older men joined their friends at the table with the food and drinks. 

"Fancy umbrellas? Wait, how come these two drinks don't have?" Prompto poked the paper decoration sticking out of Gladio's cup. The shield smacked his hand away and took a sip. 

"It's alcohol, Prom. That's how those two are going to enjoy our little vacation. Drunk for the first part, and hungover for the rest."

"Someone sounds jealous. And how long do you think we're staying?" Gladio made a mental note to order the same drink the next time they came here. 

Ignis answered before Noctis could suggest a ludicrous amount of time. "Two days tops. If we stay at the campground. If we want the camper then we can only stay one day."

"I vote campground!" Prompto swallowed the food and took a sip of his water. There were a lot of cool spots he wanted to get photos of. The longer they stayed, the more time he had to check them out. 

Noctis nodded. He was going to catch so many fish. 

The food was polished off quickly, but Ignis still had half of his drink left. Coctura had put the alcohol in plastic cups, so they were able to take the drinks onto the beach. 

Outside on the parking lot Ignis handed Gladio his cup. "Please hold this for me. I need the bathroom, I'll be right back." He headed back to the restaurant as the other three walked to the secluded shoals. 

Noctis was about to summon his fishing pole when Gladio handed him the advisor's drink. "I'm going back for another one, if I pass Iggy I'll let him know you have his cup." 

Prompto and Noctis were left standing on the pier unsupervised with the half filled cup of vodka. 

Noctis went to take a sip once the shield was halfway back to the restaurant. Prompto stared at him incredulously. "Dude!What are you doing? We're still underage! Do you want Ignis to kill us!?"

"Relax, I just want to taste it. I'm not going to drink it all." He took a bit more than a sip, and then spit it out dramatically. "Oh man, this is horrible. How can they enjoy this?" He held the rest out to Prompto. "Wanna try?"

"Absolutely not. I like being alive, and if Iggy finds us drunk then I can kiss my life goodbye. Besides, you just said it was gross."

"I'm not going to get drunk off of a mouthful that I didn't even swallow." He set the cup down and finally sat to do some fishing while Prompto took pictures of the quay. 

Ten minutes passed, and no one returned. "Noct, I'm bored. Can we go explore a bit?" 

"Yeah, I guess. The fish aren't biting." 

They wandered off, forgetting to grab Ignis' drink. 

-o-

The shield stopped at the souvenir shack before going to get a second drink. The advisor had been talking with the chef about spices when Gladio sauntered up to the bar. 

Ignis went to take his cup back before noticing that it was not with the older man. 

"Did you finish my drink?"

"Nah, I left it with the kids. They're at that quiet fishing spot. The one without the tackle shop." 

"You left our two underage companions with half a cup of strong vodka?" Ignis felt faint. 

"They're not dumb enough to drink it. Well, maybe Noct, but Prompto won't. He's a goody two shoes." Gladio went ahead and ordered himself another drink. 

"He will if Noctis tells him to. You know how he can get Prompto to do whatever he wants. Remember the frosting incident?"

Gladio shuddered. Last week Noctis had dared Prompto to eat all of Ignis' homemade frosting straight from the jar. Prom had been extremely reluctant because of all the sugar, but then Noct double behemoth dared him. He couldn't refuse the challenge. The blond only got through a quarter of the jar, but then he had been hyped up and babbling about chocobos for two hours before crashing. The king had stolen his camera to record the whole thing. 

"Alright, let's go check on the knuckleheads. I bet they're still there, fishing and whining about being bored." Gladio took a sip of his new drink. 

They were not there fishing and whining about being bored. The only thing on the pier was an empty knocked over cup that the advisor knew was his. Ignis could physically feel his blood pressure rising. It took everything in him to keep from summoning his daggers and stabbing the shield. He tried calling Noctis' phone. No answer. He then tried calling Prompto's phone. No answer. He cursed. 

"I'll check the coast, you go check the hills. We'll meet at the car in an hour. Maybe they're passed out somewhere? They better be if they're not answering their phones." Ignis stormed off to scan the beach. Gladio just took another sip and looked up at the hills. He sighed before walking towards his assigned search area. So much for a vacation. 

-o-

Prompto and Noctis had made it all the way to the small cave by the campground just as the older men were arriving at the pier. Noctis silenced his phone as it rang and grabbed Prompto's before he could answer. 

"If we answer now Ignis will just yell. We have to wait until his anger turns to worry. I give it a half hour."

"Isn't that kind of mean?" 

"You wanna call him?"

"No..."

"Thought so. Come on." He grabbed Prompto's hand and pulled him a little deeper into the cave. 

"Why are we hiding again?"

Noctis sighed, sitting down. "I don't know. I just... Everything's happening so fast. Luna's so far away, we've been hunting down Royal Arms forever, I'm always exhausted... I'm honestly surprised we're even going to rest here. But only two days? I know I've got a destiny and a kingdom, but I'm still human. I still need a break. I just wanted to get away from all the expectations and duty talk. So, thank you, by the way. You don't ever feel the need to remind me of my royal burden." 

Prompto sat down next to him. "Dude, I know you know what you have to do. I... You were my first and only friend for the longest time... I know you're destined to save whatever, but you'll always be my best friend. And best friends don't shove destiny down each other's throats."

"No, they don't. At least, you don't." 

Noctis slung an arm around Prompto's shoulder and dragged him down so they were laying in the sand. The blond yelped. "Hey, warn me next time!"

"Nope. Best friends don't do that either." 

"Noooooooct!"

They began giggling like children as Prompto's voice bounced off of the cave's ceiling. 

"Echo Echo!" 

"Quiet, chocobo butt, they'll find us!"

"Hey! My hair does not-"

Noctis hand was over his mouth. "Listen." 

He strained his ears. All he heard was the dripping of water and the distant sound of waves. He looked at Noctis with confusion written all over his face. 

Noctis lifted his hand. "You don't hear my stomach growling?"

"But we just ate!"

"Yeah, and now it's time for dessert." Noctis summoned his hat out of the armiger and put it on Prompto's head. He then summoned one of Gladio's shirts for the blond to wear instead of his vest. Noctis reached into the armiger once more for Ignis' extra jacket and Prompto's other pair of pants. He wore these himself. Noctis put their extra clothes back into the magical hammerspace. 

"Do you want Specs spare glasses or should I wear them?"

"Noct, shouldn't we go find them? They've gotta be worried by now."

"After we get a snack." He tried to smooth down his hair so his spikes wouldn't be so recognizable. He failed miserably. The glasses went on his face. The prescription wasn't strong enough to mess with his vision. Why did Ignis wear these if his eyesight wasn't so bad? 

"Noct, I think we should at least text Gladio. He can stall Ignis or something." Prompto nervously played with his gloves. 

"Are you kidding? His lectures are worse. Wait... That's right! You've never gotten one. Aw man, you'll definitely hear one now."

Noctis led his best friend out of the cave and down the beach. "Keep your head down, that's Ignis at the tackle shop." The advisor was questioning the person in the shack, no doubt looking for the friends currently sneaking past. His peripheral vision must be broken. That's why he wore glasses. 

"Noct-"

"Please, Prompto?"

The gunner sighed. "Okay. But when they find us, you get to be murdered first."

"Of course. So you can escape, right?" Noctis grinned at the blond. He loved how loyal his friend was. Then he felt a little twinge of guilt. He'd have to make up the abuse of his loyalty by ensuring that Prompto enjoyed himself as well. Shouldn't be too hard. 

"There's no way those two would let me escape."

"You're right. They'd break our legs right after finding us so we couldn't run away." 

"Something to look forward to..." Prompto adjusted the cap and groaned. This was like high school all over again. Only this time detention was not an option. Just some good old bodily harm at the hands of the two men he didn't want to anger. 

They walked past the greeter who ground out a 'cheery' welcome. Coctura gave them an odd glance as Noctis ordered the copycat Tenebraen cake. She was no doubt wondering where the other two were, and why the two in front of her had on such flimsy disguises. She said nothing, she figured it really wasn't her business. 

Noctis sliced the cake in half with a fork. "Here. Sorry we can't afford two slices." 

"You can have the whole thing, you said you were hungry."

"Prom. I can't enjoy this while you sit there with nothing. Besides, we're on vacation. Treat yo self."

Prompto had to chuckle at that. Usually he was the one quoting memes. 

They asked for another fork and devoured the cake at one of the couches overlooking the dock. They could hear Dino's voice below as he argued with someone on the phone. Prompto pulled out his camera and took a picture of their frosted faces. 

"Save that one, it sure is a sweet picture!" Noctis finished his last bite and wiped his mouth off with a napkin. He had actually remembered to grab some, Ignis would've been proud. 

"And everyone groans when I make puns. So unfair." Prompto wiped his mouth clean and stretched. "What should we do next?" He hoped Noctis would have mercy on the older men and end their worrying. 

"I don't know... wanna go swimming? I figure we'll 'reappear' right before dinner. That'll give us some freedom before we get put on lockdown." 

Prompto nodded. Surely that would satisfy Noct's adventure lust. "I know you don't want to be found, but we should still at least text them to say we're okay."

"If I do will you stop worrying?"

"Yeah."

"Alright but just one message. No phone call though because then Ignis will guilt trip you and you'll want to go back."

Noctis texted Ignis. 

(We're ok. Stop looking for us. Go enjoy the beach. We'll meet you at the campground for dinner.)-

-(WHERE ARE YOU)

-(ANSWER YOUR PHONE)

-(NOCTIS I SWEAR)

Prompto's phone rang, but Noctis didn't let him answer. 

-(WHY ISN'T PROMPTO ANSWERING)

-(IF HE GETS HURT BECAUSE OF YOU I'M GOING TO COOK NOTHING BUT CARROTS FOR A WEEK)

"Aw, Iggy cares about you enough to threaten me with vegetables."

"Why would I be hurt though? I'm not accident prone enough to get hurt on the totally safe beach." Prompto pouted. He wasn't that weak... Did they really see him that way?

(Prompto's fine. And you hurt his feelings.)-

"Hey, don't tell him that!" Great. Now he probably thought the gunner was weak emotionally as well as physically. 

-(OF COURSE I HURT HIS FEELINGS. THAT VODKA WAS STRONG. HE CAN'T HANDLE THAT MUCH ALCOHOL WITHOUT GETTING SENSITIVE)

Both boys blinked. Alcohol? 

Oh em gee. He thought they drank his vodka. Noctis felt really bad. He called Ignis. "Specs, we didn't drink your alcohol. Neither of us is drunk or hurt." He spoke quickly before the advisor could start yelling. 

Relief flooded through Ignis before slight irritation settled. "The cup was empty... Where are you? I've been up and down this beach asking everyone if they've seen you two!" 

"We're okay. Seriously, stop worrying and come get a massage or something."

"So you're at the quay?"

Crap. He had accidentally given away their location. 

"Not for long. We'll see you later at camp!"

"Why don't you want me to find-"

Noctis hung up. "There. He knows we're safe. Now he will just be angry instead of worried. He'll probably work up Gladio too."

"Still, I feel better now that he's not worrying. Even if that means we'll be in so much trouble."

"Prom, you say that now..."

Noctis stood and returned the forks and plate to Coctura. He led Prompto past Dino, ran down the pier, and went to jump into the water. He stopped, remembering the phones in his pocket. He stuck them into the armiger. 

"Come on. If we swim close to the quay we can avoid Ignis as he gets here."

"Oh man, here goes nothing!" Prompto leapt into the water after his friend. It was pleasantly cool despite the heat of the day. 

They swam along the quay and then under the long walkway that connected the restaurant to land. They were several feet from the shore when they heard Ignis on the walkway above them. He was on the phone and walking quickly. 

"-now, hopefully they're still there hiding in the bathroom or something."

Prompto and Noctis made faces at each other while treading water. Hiding in the bathroom? They weren't dumb enough to do something so obvious. 

"Well, I'll drag them back by their ears if I have to, I don't care that they're grown men, they shouldn't be traipsing across..." He was now too far away to be heard despite his raised voice. 

"Come on. We still have to avoid Gladio, and we don't know where he is." Noctis splashed Prompto in the face. 

"Oh it's on, Noct!" He swam after the rapidly fleeing king. 

They emerged from the water and hid behind the souvenir shack. "These wet clothes are kind of conspicuous." Prompto handed Noct's waterlogged cap over. 

"Time to change, I guess." Noctis pulled different clothes from the armiger and stored their wet outfits. 

Now Prompto was wearing Noct's jeans and Ignis' striped shirt. Noctis was wearing his extra capris and one of Gladio's tank tops. 

They smoothed their wet hair down and ran across the sand towards the hills overlooking the quay. 

"Can we head towards the cliff in front of Angelgard? I really want to get a picture before we leave Galdin." 

Noctis nodded. "Yeah." He stood at the edge of the rock as Prompto set up the tripod. "Hey, isn't that them? Leaving the restaurant?" He pointed at two figures who were turning towards the campground. 

"Yep. They're walking kinda slow... Maybe they've stopped looking?" Prompto didn't know if that was good or bad. He tried to ignore the slight panic by taking pictures of the scenery and Noctis. He took one more selfie before dismantling his gear. "Can I have my phone back? I want to check my harvest in King's Knight."

Noctis delivered the requested device. 

Oh no. There was one message from Gladio. The blond opened it. 

-(I hope you two had fun. When you are found then my fun can begin.)

"Noctis, we're going to die." He showed his friend the message. 

"Ignis won't let him do anything. He'll have killed us first, remember?" Noctis tried for nonchalance, but there was fear creeping into his eyes. 

"Not helping!"

"Okay, okay, maybe if we go back now they'll go easy on us. Come on." He looked at the campground. It was hard to see, but it looked like half of the tent was up. 

The two made their way back down to the sand before booking it across the beach. They had just made it past the parking lot when Noctis thought to say sorry for dragging his friend into this mess. 

"Prompto... huh... I wanna.... apologize... right now... for what... whatever's... coming!" Noctis finally slowed down and doubled over, panting heavily. 

Prompto skidded to a stop and almost fell. "It's okay... I should've just... called Ignis before... you took my phone." 

"No. This is all my fault... hoo, oh man... I always get us into trouble and you always pay the price. I'm sorry, Prompto."

"I still had fun. So I don't regret it." Prompto smiled at Noctis. "I'll gladly take whatever they dish out."

"Thanks. And thank you for helping me forget the whole kingly burden thing too. Today was great while it lasted. Time to return to reality." Noctis began running again, his loyal brother right behind. 

-o-

The tent was set up, the chairs were out, and the fire was burning. Noctis and Prompto looked around cautiously. Where were Ignis and Gladio? 

"I'll check the tent. You stay here." Noctis crept forward and unzipped the tent. As he crawled in he heard Prompto's panicked shout. 

"NOOOCT! HEEEEELP!"

He started turning, but was halted by a sleeping bag being shoved over his head. He struggled, but that just tangled his arms in the padded fabric. Large muscles surrounded his midsection and lifted. Well, there's Gladio. Ignis must be why Prompto yelled. 

Gladio dropped him on the ground, detangled his arms, and yanked them behind his back. Noctis felt something being tightened around his wrists before his back was pressed against a wriggling mass. 

Ignis stepped back to admire his handiwork. Prompto and Noctis were sitting back to back, wrists tied with two of Prompto's white belts. Gladio pulled the sleeping bag off of the king's head. 

"So who's going first?" Noctis glared at the older men, eyes daring them to do their worst. Prompto whimpered. "Noct, dont make them angrier!"

"I'm going first." Gladio crouched in front of Noctis. "What the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you just answer the damn phone? I had to hike all over Galdin looking for you two. And for what? You weren't even drunk. There was no danger. What, you needed to act out? To prove that we're all still at your beck and call, ready to serve your every whim? Because that's not the king I want to serve... one who still acts like a spoiled prince!"

Noctis sighed. This was the very reason he wanted to get away for a bit. Duty this, duty that, blah blah blah kingly responsibility. Gladio seemed to forget that he'd been tutored his entire life, being molded since childhood. He knew how a king was supposed to act. 

"I know, okay? Now let Prom go. It was my idea, don't punish him."

Ignis stepped forward. "No. He needs to learn how to tell you no, so he's being punished for following along."

"Being punished? He wanted to call you anyway, but I wouldn't let him. So just do whatever to me, but don't you dare drag him into it!"

"So not only did you 'run away', you kidnapped Prompto? Great leadership skills, Noct." Gladio scoffed and stood up, moving to grab something from the tent. 

Prompto sat silently throughout the entire exchange, staring at his knees. Kidnapped? Punished for following along? He was a grown man, not some helpless child. Why were they treating him like one? Speaking about his fate, right in front of him, like he wasn't there?

"Ignis?" The advisor looked at him. "I..." Oh, man. He should've thought about what he wanted to say before speaking. "I wasn't kidnapped."

Ignis sighed. "I know. Next time tell Noctis when he has a bad idea. Don't let him push you around."

"He didn't push me around! I chose to go with him!"

"I took your phone and when we passed the tackle shop I stopped you from calling out. I was kind of pushing you around. Sorry again, Prompto." Noctis squeezed his friend's hands and then began trying to undo the belt around the blond's wrists. 

Ignis noticed his arms moving and lifted Prompto, dragging him away. "Tackle shop? Did you guys walk right past me!?" 

"Yeah. And we passed you again when you were on the phone after I called you." Noctis felt smug. 

"Where? There was no one else on the walkway."

Prompto practically whispered the answer. "We were under you."

"Under? You two swam? Of all the..."

His rant was cut off by Gladio's reemergence from the tent. "I found them!" 

The younger two winced. Found what? 

Gladio held up two permanent markers. "I was originally going to put sand worms all over you while force feeding you vegetables, but I couldn't find any worms. So, since you wanna make fools of us, we're going to make fools of you."

He handed one of the markers to Ignis. The advisor knew they had rubbing alcohol in the first aid kit to remove any artwork, so he did not hold back. 

Noctis did not hold still. Gladio had to sit on his chest to stop his wiggling. The shield drew cat whiskers and fake glasses. He wrote 'princess' on Noctis' forehead. 

Prompto saw how Noct was pinned to the ground, so he stayed still and took his punishment like a man. Ignis gently drew constellations on his freckled cheeks. He was going to add more, but he stopped. Prompto opened his eyes to see what the advisor was doing. 

Ignis had capped the marker and pulled out his recipe book. "I'm thinking about making burly bean bowls. Any objections?"

That was one of Prompto's favorites, but Noctis hated that dish. Weren't they both being punished? Why wouldn't Ignis make something they'd both hate? 

"Um... sure?" 

"You actually seem sorry, so I think you've learned something. I'm sure next time Noctis wants to get you in trouble you'll be more reluctant to follow. However, I'm not untying you just yet." Ignis went to start on dinner and left Prompto sitting there. The gunner was both glad and confused that the punishment was over. He was expecting a lot worse than a little art on his face. 

It turned out it was not over, at least not where Gladio was concerned. He finally got off of Noctis, pulling the king over to where Prompto was sitting. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his music. Gladio put headphones in, sticking one earbud in each boy's ear. "If you knock them out I start the playlist over." 

He hit play, and a country song began. The captive audience groaned. This was worse than death. 

They suffered through ten times of Moogle Lovin' before dinner was ready. Ignis took the earbuds out, ignoring Gladio's insistence that they listen while eating. The advisor also undid the belts from their wrists. 

"Thank you, Ignis! I could feel my brain beginning to atrophy." Noctis took his bowl and began eating the beans without complaining. He didn't want to risk another round of Gladio's horrid music. 

Prompto immediately put in his own headphones to listen to some good music as he ate. He picked the catchiest song he had, hoping that it would get the country song out of his head. The attempt was futile. As soon as the pop song finished, Moogle Lovin' returned. "Aaaarrrggghh, I'm gonna be singing this stupid song for a week!"

"Maybe it will remind you that pissing me off is not a good idea." Gladio smirked. Mission accomplished. 

"Prompto, stop humming it!" Noctis covered his ears. 

"I'm trying!" Two seconds passed. "And if you'll let me hold you, I'll be as soft as a kiss from a moogle..."

Ignis was not going to suffer too. He hated that song. The advisor pulled out his phone and blasted some of his own music. Prompto jumped at the chance to sing something different. 

"Oh my Lord, please send the rain falling! There's always a place in a memory..." Thankfully that song stuck in Prompto's head. He owed Ignis one, big time. 

Noctis was reluctant to ask, but he needed to know their next move. "Are we heading out after breakfast tomorrow?"

"No, Ignis and I didn't get to have fun. Our day was wasted chasing immature children." 

"So, one more day after all? Woohoo!" Prompto went to wash his bowl before heading to bed. The day's events had tired him out. 

Noctis waited until the zipper closed. "Ignis, thank you for going easy on him. He really did want to let you know where we were."

"I know he did try to dissuade you. Why didn't you listen to him?"

"I already feel guilty about it, you don't need to start a whole new lecture. I'm going to bed." With that the king went inside the tent. "Prom, you up?"

"Hmm? Noct?" The blond sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I like your constellations, by the way."

"Is that what Ignis drew? I didn't look before. Gladio gave you glasses and whiskers. And your forehead says princess. I guess you don't want to take a selfie, huh?" Prompto yawned and lay back down. Noctis crawled into the sleeping bag next to him. 

"Noct?"

"Yeah?"

"I was expecting worse. Glad it wasn't so bad though."

"Yeah. Go to sleep."

"Good night, Noct."

"Night."

They listened to each other's breathing before slowly nodding off. 

-o-

After Ignis had cleaned up the remnants of dinner he crawled into the tent with the first aid kit. He pulled out the rubbing alcohol and some cotton balls. He knelt next to a sleeping Noctis and began to clean off his face, Gladio's handiwork reduced to light smudges that would come off with a bath. Ignis moved over to Prompto and wiped the stars off of his cheeks. The blond stirred, but did not wake. 

Gladio entered the tent. "Fire's out."

Ignis looked up, first aid kit clicking closed as he did. "No more alcohol on this trip."

Gladio frowned. "Come on, they didn't even drink any of it."

"This time. I don't want to know what they'll do if they are drunk."

"Tch, we'd find Prompto in a dress and Noctis naked. Guaranteed." 

"No, I don't think he'd make Prompto cross dress. I think he'd probably get him into a chocobo costume." Ignis shushed the now chuckling shield. 

Noctis rolled over, slinging one arm across Prompto. He pulled the blond closer with a snore and stopped moving. 

The movement made the older men freeze. Gladio finally saw that their faces were clean. "Aw, you cleaned it off? I didn't get a picture."

"Just wait until the next time they do something dumb." Ignis removed his glasses and lay down. 

"So, tomorrow?"

"Precisely. Good night."


End file.
